ON UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY: UACC statement: Ukraine in its 13th year of independence (08/29/04)

ON UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

UACC statement: Ukraine in its 13th year of independence

Below is the text of a statement by the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day. (The text was received on August 26.)

The Executive Committee of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council extends its warmest greetings to all the people of Ukraine on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence. By voting overwhelmingly for independence in 1991, you have demonstrated to the world that decades of foreign domination and oppression could not destroy your yearning and determination to join the family of free and democratic nations. We here in the diaspora are forever indebted to you for the many sacrifices you made to keep the struggle for independence alive and for finally reaching this great achievement peacefully and without bloodshed.

In reflecting on the progress that Ukraine has made in many spheres, we welcome many of the changes that these 13 years have wrought: the diplomatic achievements, the growth in economic health, improvements in infrastructure, a quantum leap in "creature comforts" that have been afforded to a good portion of the population.

At the same time, we are deeply concerned that forces, both outside and within Ukraine, are still threatening the sovereignty of this young nation, as well as its continuing development towards becoming a truly democratic state under the rule of law. We, therefore, call on you to redouble your efforts to secure and to protect Ukraine's full independence and ensure that it becomes a country free of political corruption and of the shadow of the Soviet past. Ukraine must display the same determination to become truly a part of Europe this year, in 2004, that it did when it rid itself of its "Soviet sarcophagus" in 1991. Only then will it become a truly free nation and an integral part of a democratic European civilization.

On behalf of the executive committee of the UACC:

Ihor Gawdiak
President

Dr. Roman Baranowskyj
Secretary

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